Workingmums.co.uk announces shortlist for its first Top Franchise Awards

Twenty-four franchises and 24 franchisees have been shortlisted for workingmums.co.uk’s first Top Franchise Awards celebrating the best family friendly franchisors and franchisees.

The Awards, sponsored by Lawbite, recognise franchisors both big and small who have empowered women in business – not only by providing a successful flexible business model, but by giving franchisees the advice and support they need to succeed. There is also an award celebrating the achievements of franchisees which is voted for by the public. Voting is open until 15th April and so far over 2,000 people have voted.

The 2016 Top Franchise Awards winners will be announced on 17th May 2016 and will be judged by former Apprentice winner and entrepreneur Yasmina Siadatan, Gillian Nissim, founder of Workingmums.co.uk; Clive Rich, founder and owner of LawBite; Deepali Nangia, Investment Director of Wild Blue Cohort, Kensington’s first angel investor network; and Mandy Garner, editor of Workingmums.co.uk.

The online ceremony will include an awards presentation, a Q&A session and opportunities to network with peers. This event provides a great platform to celebrate passion and achievement within the franchise industry.

The Franchise Award for Continuous Improvement – which will publicly acknowledge those franchisors who have continued to evolve and develop their offering as they have grown. Shortlisted are: Turtle Tots, Jittabugs and Bright & Beautiful.

Best Newcomer Award – to recognise new flexible businesses that are growing fast, that are making themselves known in the marketplace and show great future potential. Shortlisted are: Busylizzy Family Club, Joe Beans Movement & Dance and Cook Stars.

Overall Top Franchise Award – which will be selected from all the above categories, and will take into account innovation, growth, support and the provision of a flexible business concept.

Franchisee of the Year Award – voted by the public to recognise franchisees for their achievements in the last 12 months. From exceptional customer service to overcoming challenges, the public will vote on the franchisee they feel deserves recognition.

The Awards take place in Workingmums.co.uk’s 10th anniversary year. Workingmums.co.uk started as a jobs board connecting experienced female professionals with employers and now embraces all forms of flexible working, including self-employed opportunities for women, such as franchises.

Gillian Nissim, founder of Workingmums.co.uk, said: “We are delighted at the response to our Top Franchise Awards and the very high standard of entries in this our 10th anniversary year. We hope they will be as successful as our Top Employer Awards, which were created to acknowledge the very best in flexible working and diversity. We see increasing numbers of parents coming to our Franchise Directory and seeking self-employment options which offer greater flexibility and new challenges. The best franchises offer both the benefits of self employment, but without some of the risks associated with striking out alone since franchisors have already demonstrated the viability of their business models.”

Clive Rich, founder and CEO of LawBite, said: “We love working with Workingmums.co.uk, who have helped recruit many of our best lawyers. We jumped at the chance to sponsor the Franchise Awards, which will undoubtedly showcase the kind of innovative and disruptive entrepreneurs that we are dedicated to looking after.”